Page 39 of Only Flames Remain

“And you have heard what happened to the last maidservant that attended the prince, correct?”

“Yes?” Godsdammit, Aveline.

I bit the inside of my cheek, a weak attempt at regaining my composure before the queen. I could hear booted footsteps approaching as they echoed off the walls of the stone corridor.

“It would be in your best interest not to get involved with any of the princes.” Involved? She couldn’t possibly mean…“I will not have a human whore come between my sons. Have I made myself clear?”

I swallowed hard. “Yes.”

Sweet gods above.

I bit my tongue trying—and failing—to compose my expression. It did not elude me that she had said sons. Did she include Prince Sorin among them, despite sharing no common blood?

Is that what had truly happened to the maidservant who was rumored to have been put to dragon fire? Had she been involved with more than one prince…coming between them?

The queen was looking at me as if I had exactly three brain cells, further confirming what I’m sure she already thought of humans.

“Odessa?”

I had only heard that voice once before, but it already sent a familiar chill pulsing down my spine. Her face softened into a mask as she turned toward it.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, confusion clear in his tone.

“I simply came to bid your new maidservant a warm welcome,” she replied softly, a false smile plastered across her bloodred lips.

“Is that so?” There was laughter in his voice. I could tell without seeing him that his eyebrow was raised at her, his disbelief clear. “Will you be welcoming all the new castle indentures from this morning’s sale?”

Odessa chuckled. “I’ll be on my way now.”

She nodded at him in deference before stepping away from the open doorway, out of sight. The dynamic between the two of them was interesting. He did not refer to her as queen, and she acted as if he were already her superior despite not having yet ascended the throne.

The prince quickly took Queen Odessa’s place before me, flooding my senses with his staggering presence. He called to Odessa over his shoulder, “I have to speak with Father. I will meet you in the throne room with Ren and Emrys shortly.”

Her responding voice sounded far away now. “Very well.”

He turned toward me, and the power of that dark, umber gaze had me taking an involuntary step back.

“What was she talking to you about?” he asked, voice steady.

His gaze flitted about the small, darkened room behind me and his expression fell as he assessed my living quarters but said nothing.

Did I want to make an enemy out of Queen Odessa so soon by telling the truth, or should I shirk off the interaction between us? It was clear that Prince Sorin held the power in their relationship. But tales of Odessa’s cunning preceded her.

“She simply wanted to wish me a warm welcome to the Gothryn Palace. As she said.”

I tried to smile up at him, but it didn’t reach my eyes. I was going to need to get much better at acting—and fast. I never was very good at schooling my features. Prince Sorin wasn’t at all what I had been expecting, and all my carefully laid plans of how I was going to act with him were now thrown out the window.

I straightened, attempting to stand at my full height to match his presence. A twinkle of amusement lit his gaze. When I had first met him in the indenture market, his wings had been tucked neatly at his back. Here in the dim light of the hall, they were safely tucked away entirely.

He was certainly more intimidating when surrounded by them, though his presence without them was not without its own menace. He likely didn’t want to frighten me here, alone.

His expression hardened, but he didn’t press, changing the subject.

“As I’m sure you’ve heard, you are to be my…” He trailed off, struggling for the correct word to use.

“Servant?” I suggested, folding my arms behind me and rising onto my toes. “Though we did not discuss my background—I would be much better suited as a lady’s maid.”

As soon as the words had left my lips, I cursed myself. I didn’t want to give him any ideas about reassigning me. I was precisely where I needed to be to get this task done and over with. His selection of me at the market had been fortuitous. It put my uncertainty about being too close to him and drawing suspicion at ease.